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Lena Dunham recently Instagrammed a picture of a woman with a sharp dark bob, with the caption: “note to self: when in doubt, look like Donna Tartt”. The New York girl is the latest in a long line of Donna devotees. With the elusive author’s long-awaited third novel The Goldfinch out next week, here’s how to take a leaf out of her book.

If you’ve been dumped or yet another friend is asking when you’ll get married

Pah to power couples. No one knows if Tartt is or has been in any long-term relationships. “Je ne vais jamais me marier,” she once said.

If you’re under deadline pressure at work

Insist on Tartt time — she “can’t think of anything worse than having to turn out a book every year. It would be hell”. The Secret History took nine years to write and only having three published novels hasn’t done Tartt’s reputation any harm — compare her with those who have churned them out: anyone for Dan Brown’s literary reputation?

If you miss a phone call

Make sure you have an interesting answerphone. The one in her Greenwich Village apartment treated callers to the voice of TS Eliot reading The Wasteland.

If your hair stubbornly refuses to grow long

Get the kind of shiny Louise Brooks bob that has become a Tartt trademark.

Tartt fan: Lena Dunham

If you don’t know what to wear

Don’t overcomplicate matters. Tartt fastens her shirts to the top button and commands sartorial respect. A former friend said: “If you went to her room at 4am, you’d find her sitting at her desk, smoking a cigarette, wearing a perfectly pressed white shirt, collar studs, trousers with a knife crease.” But don’t be afraid to experiment, especially if you’re on a budget. She also shops at Gap Kids.

If you find high heels painful

Just don’t wear them. Tartt says: “Even now I feel a real funniness about women’s costume. To really put on high heels and a frilly dress, do you know what I’m saying? It seems kind of … comical.”

If you feel bad that your Twitter follower count is only in single digits

Tartt doesn’t do Twitter. Or any social media, for that matter. She used to claim not to own a TV.

If you’re caught out by a lack of general knowledge

Remember Tartt prefers to “know one thing really well, rather than to know a lot shallowly”.

If you’re in awe of your cleverer friends

They can be good for you. Tartt and Bret Easton Ellis used to read each other’s first drafts. And Ellis referenced The Secret History in The Rules of Attraction: “That weird Classics group …probably roaming the countryside sacrificing farmers and performing pagan rituals.”

If you feel ignored

Turn being mysterious into an asset. It makes people want to know more.